This blog has the title of my 4th book; the first in the 'Sofia Trilogy'. Other books are 'Time & Tide', 'No Regrets', 'Stay in Touch', and the second and third of the 'Sofia Trilogy', Sofia's Legacy' and 'Love You Forever'.

Friday, 21 July 2017

Cairo!

Hello Everyone,

Was last weeks information on Washington of interest to you?

1. Cairo is the capital of Egypt.

2. It is situated on the River Nile.

3. Egypt is in Africa.

4.Go north and you walk into the Mediterranean Sea, go south and you find Sudan, go west and look at Libya, go east and see the Red Sea and Israel.

5.Arabic is the official language; although English and French are widely spoken.

6.Islam is the predominant religion.

7.It is the city where one can discover the Al-Azhar Mosque which contains the oldest Islamic university in the world (AD 970).

8.It is also the city where you will find the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

9. In this museum is the Mummy Room and the Tutunkhamun exhibition. (Both are well worth a visit.)

10.In the heart of Cairo is the Khan El-Khalili, one of the world's great bazaars and Africa's largest souk or market.

11. The Citadel, an imposing medieval fortress, was the home of Egypt's rulers for 700 years. Today it offers sweeping views of the city.

12.From the centre of the city it is possible to see the Pyramids at Giza; this is the modern name given to the gigantic burial grounds of Letopolis, now Cairo

13. These three Pyramids are at least 4,500 years old and the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World to survive today.

14. They cover an area of 2,000 square metres on a plateau.

15. They are the funeral complexes of Pharaoh Khufe (the second king of the Fourth Dynasty), Khafre (his son and the fourth king of the Fourth Dynasty and Menkaure (Khafre's son and the fifth king of the Dynasty).

16. Each one has a burial chamber excavated in the rock; they also have a Mortuary Temple, a Causeway, and several other chambers in them.

17.The Great Sphinx is a colossal stone statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion.

18. It was built in about 2500BC by Pharaoh Khafre, the occupant of the second Pyramid and the face is a portrait of this king.

19. The Sphinx is thought to be a guardian figure protecting the tomb and warding off evil spirits.

20. A final point - I visited Cairo and Giza in February 2002; they are only supposed to have about six days of rain at the Pyramids each year. Guess what? Yes! It rained! Wasn't I lucky to have one of those days!

Next week I will be giving you twenty facts about Tokyo!

But tomorrow, I shall be at the Gedling Art Festival in Nottingham. If you are in the area pop along to the Arnold Methodist Church where I will be, unless I've popped over the road to Costa, and say 'hello'. It's at 54, Front Street, NG5 7EL